The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) marked the World Day of Social Justice by calling for equal access to education and inclusive participation in decision-making across Afghanistan.
In a message released on Friday, 19 February, UNAMA said that no country can achieve social justice when half of its population is deprived of secondary education.
At the same time, Afghan activists launched a campaign titled the “National Campaign for Girls’ Education”, urging the immediate reopening of girls’ secondary schools.
The United Nations designated 20 February as the World Day of Social Justice at a 1995 summit in Copenhagen. The day aims to promote equal rights for all and to combat discrimination, inequality and social exclusion.
Over the past four years, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on citizens, particularly women and girls, intensifying discrimination, poverty and marginalisation, according to critics.
In its statement, UNAMA said social justice in Afghanistan requires non-discriminatory access to employment and sustained humanitarian support for families in need.
The mission stressed that lasting peace can only be achieved through the meaningful participation of women, young people, diverse ethnic groups and persons with disabilities in decision-making processes.
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, the international community has repeatedly called on the group to establish an inclusive government. The Taliban have largely dismissed those appeals.
Afghan activists supporting girls’ education said no society can claim to uphold social justice while denying equal access to education.
In a statement, they said: “A government that deprives half of society of the right to education, the right to choose and the right to dignity can neither expect obedience from its people nor their support.”
The activists also urged the Taliban to end what they described as hostility towards justice, knowledge and national interests, and called on families and civil society institutions to join the campaign in support of girls’ education.
The World Day of Social Justice comes as, during more than four years of Taliban rule, many social groups, especially women and ethnic and religious minorities, have faced discrimination and harassment.
Over that period, the Taliban have issued dozens of decrees restricting the rights of women and girls in education, employment and public life. Human rights experts and activists have described these policies as amounting to “gender apartheid” and have called for their recognition and criminalisation under international law.
